Pi Delta Sigma

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 16, 2026

MARSHALL, Mo. — Pi Delta Sigma, the Missouri Valley College journalism honor society, condemns the escalating violence, intimidation and official hostility directed at journalists in Serbia and calls upon Serbian authorities to take immediate action to protect members of the press.

A July 2026 report produced by partners of the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform and the Media Freedom Rapid Response describes a country facing record physical violence against journalists, online death threats, smear campaigns, political pressure and widespread impunity. The report followed an international media freedom mission to Belgrade in March.

According to the report, Serbia recorded 209 press freedom violations in 2025, more than twice the 84 documented during the previous year. Those incidents affected 359 media workers and organizations, including journalism students. At least 168 media workers have been affected by further incidents since January 2026.

“This is not merely a series of isolated confrontations between journalists and hostile individuals,” Pi Delta Sigma adviser Chris Post said. “The evidence describes a sustained assault on the ability of journalists to report in the public interest. When reporters must fear police violence, political retaliation or death threats simply for documenting public events, the public’s right to know is also under attack.”

The report documented at least 38 police attacks against journalists since 2025, resulting in injuries to five journalists. Police have also allegedly confiscated equipment and conducted arbitrary arrests. The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia recorded 77 occasions between March and December 2025 in which police either failed to respond adequately to attacks and obstruction or were themselves implicated in the incidents.

Pi Delta Sigma is especially alarmed by the collapse of accountability surrounding these attacks. The Serbian Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office reported a 367 percent increase in physical attacks against journalists during 2025, yet judicial authorities secured only three convictions related to criminal attacks against journalists.

“Violence flourishes when attackers believe there will be no consequences,” Post said. “Three convictions amid a dramatic increase in attacks cannot provide meaningful deterrence. Authorities must investigate every incident thoroughly, including those involving police officers and public officials.”

The danger extends beyond physical attacks. Since the beginning of 2026, Serbian authorities have documented at least 24 online threats against journalists, including 20 death threats and 10 cases of sexual harassment involving journalists and members of their families. The report found that threats are rarely prosecuted and protective measures are seldom granted, causing many journalists to stop reporting threats to police.

The report also links dangerous statements by Serbian officials to an atmosphere of hostility toward independent media. It states that political leaders and pro-government outlets have used smear campaigns and dehumanizing rhetoric against journalists, further exposing those reporters to threats and physical violence.

Pi Delta Sigma joins the report’s authors in calling upon Serbian officials to:

• End rhetoric that promotes violence or publicly denigrates journalists.
• Condemn every act of intimidation against members of the press.
• Investigate attacks and threats promptly, independently and transparently.
• Hold police officers and other state actors accountable when they attack or obstruct journalists.
• Provide specialized training for police and judicial officials concerning journalists’ physical and digital safety.
• End the use of political pressure and retaliatory lawsuits against independent media.

These actions reflect the report’s formal recommendations to the Serbian government and parliament, which include ending calls for violence, investigating incitement, condemning intimidation and providing specialized safety training for police and judicial officials.

“Journalists are not combatants because they carry cameras into demonstrations, and they are not enemies of the state because their reporting challenges those in power,” Post said. “They are witnesses. Serbia’s government has an obligation to ensure that those witnesses can work without being beaten, threatened, arrested or silenced.”

Pi Delta Sigma stands in solidarity with Serbian journalists, journalism students, independent news organizations and press freedom advocates who continue reporting despite these dangers. The society also urges the European Union and other international institutions to maintain pressure on Serbian authorities until measurable improvements are made in journalist safety, accountability and media independence.

About Pi Delta Sigma

Pi Delta Sigma is a journalism honor society founded at Missouri Valley College in 2024. Guided by its motto, atramentum et sanguis, or “ink and blood,” the organization promotes ethical journalism, press freedom, professional excellence and solidarity with journalists facing censorship, intimidation and violence.